


The Picture of Perfection

by emc257



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-09
Updated: 2013-12-09
Packaged: 2018-01-04 03:15:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1075871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emc257/pseuds/emc257
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rei knows he has feelings for his best friend Nagisa. He has plans to tell him, but he wants everything to be perfect. The only problem is that Rei self-sabotages himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Picture of Perfection

**Author's Note:**

> I love the idea of Rei being a perfectionist and Nagisa being the only one that can clam him down.

Rei was never one to half ass things. If he was going to do something he was going to give it his all. That was why after Nagisa had perused him to join the swim club, Rei had dedicated a large amount of his time to studying swimming. He didn’t have a pool so he couldn’t practice, but he watched videos of Olympic swimmers, studying their technique. He came up with formulas for the perfect dive, the perfect stroke, basically for perfect form. If he did say so himself, he had made some real progress considering his starting point.

During his time with the swim club Rei found himself developing feels for his best friend. At first he had mistaken the feeling as admiration for the smaller boy’s skill, but there was something more there. He felt a weird sensation every time Nagisa would jump on him, or cling to him. He had never been so closed to anyone before, so he was not surprised by his newfound feelings, but he merely wrote them off as infatuation. He was just not used to having a friend that was as close as Nagisa. But his feelings didn’t go away. Rei found himself getting jealous whenever Nagisa started talking about times before Rei had joined the team. He knew it was nothing, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to tell Nagisa, his feeling, but he needed to do it right. He wasn’t sure if Nagisa shared his feeling so he had to make sure he told him in the perfect way. In a way that would let the boy know that he has fine if he didn’t return Rei’s feelings, and at the right time. It couldn’t just blurt it out at a swim practice.

Rei had it all planned out; he was going to take Nagisa to his favorite ice shop and confuse his feelings. He had written a little speech and practice in front of his mirror a good six times the night before. Now Rei sat nervously next to Nagisa on the train. Nagisa was chattering away like he always did, Rei nodded every so often so Nagisa would think he was listening, although his mind was buzzing thinking all the things that could go wrong with his confession. What if it scared Nagisa so much that he stopped being friends with Rei all together? Or worse what if he thought it was a joke and just laughed at him? That was what Rei feared most, that Nagisa wouldn’t take him seriously and then tell his other teammates and they would all think of him as a joke.

“What’s wrong Rei-chan? You are being really quiet.” Nagisa asked pulling on Rei’s sleeve, shaking him a little. Rei forced a smile through his nerves.

“I’m just thinking.” Rei said.

“You think too much.” Nagisa laughed and continued his chatter. Rei let out a sigh of relief that Nagisa had dropped it. Now he was free to continue over thinking things. When they had reached their stop, Nagisa grabbed Rei’s hand and pulled him off the train. He didn’t drop Rei’s hand as they started walking toward the shop. “I was so surprised when Rei-chan said we were going to get ice cream. You don’t normally want to.” Nagisa laughed squeezing Rei’s hand making him blush.  He mumbled something about wanting to do something different making Nagisa beam even brighter.

When they reached the shop, Rei held opened the door letting Nagisa open first. As Nagisa walked through he noticed how form fitting his jeans were to his ass. With a red face Rei followed Nagisa in. They walked up to the counter and Nagisa started his process of picking a flavor. Rei smiled at how Nagisa debated to himself what flavor to get. The blonde boy did this every time and always ended up one the same flavor; strawberry. Luckily the shop wasn’t crowded so Nagisa’s lengthy process wouldn’t bother anyone. It also meant that less people would be there to see Rei get turned down. After Nagisa had finally settled on strawberry, shocking, Rei quickly order is usual vanilla and moved to pay for both. Nagisa gave Rei a questioning look.

“Well, I invited you, so it is only fair that I pay.” Rei stuttered. Nagisa beamed at him, making Rei’s knees go a little weak. Rei took the two cones, handing one to Nagisa, the smaller boy grabbed Rei’s arm and dragged him to a booth near the back. Rei slid into the booth across from Nagisa. The energetic boy was already chattering again. Every so often he would pause to take a lick. Rei would focus in on Nagisa’s tongue. It awakened a strange sense inside of him. Rei didn’t think his face was ever going to return to its normal color.

“Rei-chan, you are acting so strange today. Is there something bothering you?” Nagisa asked with a look of concern on his face. Rei gulped, this was his chance.

“Yes, there is something I have been meaning to talk to you about something…” Rei started, stuttering a little. He tried to remember the speech he had written but suddenly, he couldn’t remember it anymore. Nagisa looked up to him with big eyes, making Rei melt. “I think I could improve at a faster rate with a different training regime.” He sputtered out.  Nagisa laughed a little and told him that he was sure Gou would look over it. His words just pasted over Rei, not even phasing him. He had missed his chance. When was he supposed to confess now? Clearly, he was going to self-sabotage himself. Not long afterward the two finished their cones and started the walk home. Nagisa grabbed Rei’s hand and swung it as they walked.

Rei thought back on the day and the disaster it had been. He was supposed to tell Nagisa how he felt and get the weight off his shoulders. He was starting to be crushed under it. Maybe he was just being selfish, after all he had it pretty good, with Nagisa right now. He thought about how they always rode the train to school together and how Nagisa would hang off of him during school He thought about all the times Nagisa had visited his house and manage to turn them into sleepovers even though they had school that next day. Rei looked on all of that and decided that he could be happy with that. True Nagisa might never know his true feels, but it was worth it to protect what they had.

They had reached Nagisa’s building. They stopped for a moment, Nagisa still holding Rei’s hand. Rei was about to say good-bye, when he felt Nagisa pulling him in close. The smaller boy stood on his tiptoes and kissed him. Rei’s opened in surprise. It was only a quick kiss, the kind that Rei had always imagined giving Nagisa after one of their dates. Nagisa pulled away and dropped down bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Bye-bye, Rei-chan. It was a nice date.” Nagisa beamed before running into his building. Rei just stood there for a moment taking in what had just happened. Was there something he didn’t know about going on?

The next day on the train, Rei was prepared to confront Nagisa. He didn’t want to be played the fool. At Nagisa’s stop, Rei waited nervously as people piled into the train. As usual Rei, could spot Nagisa right away. The blonde boy had a way of making his presence known. He hurried over to Rei embracing him and started chattering about what his sister had done the night before. Rei listened patiently waiting for his chance to talk. Finally as they got off and prepared to run the last leg of the trip to school Rei got his chance.

“Nagisa, what did you mean by yesterday?” Rei asked looking at the boy.

“What do you mean?” Nagisa asked, confused. Rei panicked, had he already forgotten.

“You kissed me.” Rei said, panic creeping into his voice.

“Oh, yeah that.” Nagisa laughed. “Did you want to do it again?” Nagisa teased.

“No…I mean yes…I mean you called it a date. What did you mean by that?” Rei asked getting flustered. Nagisa laughed, making Rei’s stomach drop. He knew it; it was all a joke. Nagisa had made him join the swim club all for sick joke.

“Did you ask me out on a date yesterday?” Nagisa asked confuse, his face bunching up. “Do you not like me Rei-chan?” He continued. Rei could hear sadness in the boy’s voice and thought he could see tears welling up in the corners of Nagisa’s eyes.

“What?! Of course I like you. I just didn’t think you liked me back.” Rei said, getting quiet near the end. That seemed to bring back the light to Nagisa’s eyes. The small boy jumped on Rei, knocking him back. The boy had his arms wrapped around Rei’s neck. Before he could say anything else, Nagisa’s lips were pressed against his. This kiss lasted much longer. At first Rei was stiff, but eventually he relaxed into the kiss. He let Nagisa’s lips guide his. It was everything Rei had imagined it to be. Nagisa’s lips were soft, but confident. They broke apart, but Nagisa kept his arms around Rei’s neck, so they were pressed together.

“How could I not like you, Rei-chan. You are just so beautiful.” Nagisa purred into Rei’s ear making him blush. Without thinking he leaned down and kissed the boy. It wasn’t what he had planned, but it neither the less perfect. 


End file.
